Cornerback Mercy Maston pushes for playing time with Boise State football team

You can watch the full Lake interview above. But here are the highlights:

— On the underneath completions by BYU: “They did a really excellent job of getting that quarterback easy throws, easy completions. On a lot of defenses, you want them to make that throw. You want them to make that play, but then you’ve got to tackle it. And our problem is we didn’t tackle as a whole defensive unit.”

— On the targeting penalty on safety Dillon Lukehart: “It’s something we coach daily. We have a big picture in our defensive backs room of the strike zone and all the rules the NCAA made this year. (In the past), that’s a big-time play. He dislodged the football.” Lukehart moved his head to the side and didn’t launch, Lake noted. “But what he didn’t do is he didn’t go lower. His shoulder pad hit the face mask of the receiver and, unfortunately, I’m sure to the casual football fan who likes toughness, they probably like that hit, but in today’s football rules you can’t do that. We’ll all learn from it as a group. We did extra drills this week to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

— On where Lukehart will be during the first half: “We had to ask around what we do. We were going to have him up in the press box, but we called and that’s not legal. He’s going to sit in the locker room. He’ll be sitting in the corner with his pads on waiting for the second half.”

— On No. 3 cornerback Mercy Maston, a junior college transfer: “Mercy Maston has come on a ton in the last really month or so. He has played well. He hasn’t made mistakes. He’s a really physical corner out there. He’s tackled well. So you can count on seeing him even more so as we continue down the stretch here.”

— Lake said the Broncos played their best red-zone defense last week. The Cougars scored two touchdowns and two field goals in the red zone, with one TD coming from 20 yards out. He also liked the “sudden change” defense. After the Broncos’ three second-half turnovers, the Cougars’ only first down came on the targeting penalty.

AVERILL EAGER TO START

Less than a month ago, Boise State redshirt freshman Travis Averill was the backup center with little hope of playing significant snaps this season.

On Saturday, he likely will make his first career start — at right tackle.

Averill replaced fellow freshman Steven Baggett on the third series last week at BYU and finished the game. Now it’s Averill’s turn to fill in for injured starter Rees Odhiambo (week to week) and injured backup Jake Broyles (out for the year).

“It was kind of nerve-racking (last week) but I settled down after a play or two,” he said. “I go against great guys in practice just like them.”

Averill, a tackle in high school, played left tackle on the scout team last year. That meant daily battles with defensive end Demarcus Lawrence.

“He got me a lot,” Averill said. “This year, I’m getting better. … It helps a lot because he is one great player. It’s good to go against him.”

The move from inside to tackle was a challenge, Averill said, and he’s likely to move back to center in the spring. But he’s getting comfortable now.

“Guys are coming off way faster,” he said. “And it’s about just having the right footwork, too. Once I stay at a position for a while, I get real comfortable.”

Said coach Chris Petersen: “He’s not necessarily a tackle. He’s pretty sharp and he battles hard. He’s a physical player.”

NOTES & QUOTES

— Colorado State QB Garrett Grayson is feeling better after somehow spraining an ankle while walking on Waikiki Beach last week, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports.